There is always something special about a new client’s first event with us—and Sapphire Ventures was no exception! We were thrilled to help coordinate the Sapphire Vision Summit, which took place on November 4. Previously known as the CIO Summit, this was the seventh year the conference took place. The cred team helped bring the vision of this redesigned Summit to life, branching out from the previous main audience of CIOs from global 2000s, to now bringing together CHROs, additional CXOs, and startup CEOs. 

There were 650 people registered for this invite-only, exclusive event and over 30 speakers shared their insights in sessions and showcases. These speakers included notable executives from Facebook, Airbnb, Walmart, Pearson, and more. Our opening keynote speaker, Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and Former Editor-in-Chief of WIRED, gave a presentation on the “8 Trade-Offs of The Future of Technology and Its Compromises.” 

Our closing keynote speakers—Lindsey McInerney, Former Global Head of Technology & Innovation, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Cathy Hackl, Metaverse Leader, Chief Metaverse Officer, and CEO of the Futures Intelligence Group—ended the event with a conversation on “Strategizing for the Metaverse: How Enterprises Can Prepare for the New Reality.”

Sessions covered a wide range of themes, most in a panel-discussion format moderated by a Sapphire executive. There were also startup showcases, where speakers from different companies shared insights based on their respective company’s mission and product. The following topics were covered:

• How to Achieve Sustainability at Scale: Technology Strategies for a Cleaner World

• Avoiding the Great Resignation: How to Remake Culture & Retain Talent

• Reimagining Customer Experience in the Age of Personalization

• How Enterprises Can Win By Leveraging the New Open-Data Ecosystem

• One Step Ahead: Proactive Cybersecurity for a Growing Threat Ecosystem

• Startup Showcases:

  • A New Era for the Employee Experience: Coaching, Learning, & Wellbeing at Work 

  • Improving Data Protection, Governance, and Integration at Scale

Some key takeaways from the Summit:

• The best customer experience combines seamless digital interaction with real human interaction.

• Sustainability is not only a business mandate, but strategically beneficial to invest in.

• The metaverse and web3 are quickly shifting from our future to our present. To keep up in the corporate world, companies must adapt to this shift. 

• Clear communication and a transparent work environment are vital to retaining talent, now more than ever.

In addition to speaker management, our events team took on the event’s website creation, virtual platform management, attendee communications, email marketing, exclusive networking organization (pictured above), and project management. We look forward to Sapphire Venture’s Vision Summit 2022, which will hopefully be in-person.

If you’re interested in hosting your own event, get in touch!